Asymmetric Michael additions of aldehydes to maleimides using a recyclable fluorous thiourea organocatalyst

Fluorous thiourea organocatalyst 3 promotes the Michael reaction of aldehydes with maleimides to afford the corresponding adducts in high yields with up to 99% ee. Fluorous organocatalyst 3 can be easily recovered as an insoluble precipitate from the reaction mixture by simple filtration and can be reused without significant loss of catalytic activity. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.